Not appointed as NCP president, says Praful Patel

“The Nationalist Congress Party is a democratic institution. A decision of this magnitude will only be made by consulting our senior leadership and MLAs, engaging with our dedicated party office-bearers, and respecting the sentiments and collective will of all our party members. Being a national party, we follow the established process in these matters,” Patel said.

Mumbai: Amid the fast-changing political scenario in Maharashtra, NCP leader and former civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Sunday clarified that he has not been appointed as the NCP president following the death of Ajit Pawar.

68-year-old Patel, a Rajya Sabha member, is the NCP working president.

The news spread like wildfire after union commerce and industry minister and BJP MP Piyush Goyal said that Patel has been appointed as the national president of the NCP.

However, later Goyal clarified that he said it based on wrong information passed on by a journalist.

“A senior journalist had given me incorrect information that Praful Patel has been elected as the president of the NCP. Without verifying the information, I had given some statements in the media, but later it came to light that the information was wrong and the NCP is continuing to work under the leadership of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar. I express my regret for the misleading information,” said Goyal.

A stunned Patel said that there is no basis for such a news that he has been appointed the NCP national president.

“I have noted few reports circulating in the media regarding my appointment as the National President of the NCP. I wish to state with absolute clarity that these reports are totally baseless and lack any truth,” said Patel, the troubleshooter of the party.

“The NCP is a democratic institution. A decision of this magnitude will only be made by consulting our senior leadership and MLAs, engaging with our dedicated party office-bearers, and respecting the sentiments and collective will of all our party members. Being a national party, we follow the established process in these matters,” he added.

NCP state unit president Sunil Tatare too denied such reports. “No…I have not heard or seen what Goyal has said. Patel has not been appointed NCP president,” said Tatkare, the Raigad MP.

The development coincides with MNS president Raj Thackeray’s cryptic statement about Patil and not Patel.

“Maharashtra's politics has undergone a complete upheaval in the recent past; honestly, one doesn't even feel like commenting on it. But still, one will have to speak on the events unfolding throughout the day-to-day. A party like the Nationalist Congress Party, which is truly rooted in Marathi soil, and its working president should be a proper Marathi person, a Patil perhaps, but not a Patel!" Raj said.